Page 8 of Bonded By Blood

Brianna let out a breath and turned to face Joe. From what she could tell, his head seemed to have stopped bleeding already. Still, she offered him a small smile and asked, “Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Other than my pride.” He paused, his arm moving as if he were fighting the urge to rub at his head. “What about you?”

For the life of her, Brianna could only stare. Seconds passed before she asked, “Me?”

Joe nodded and gestured to her hand. “I’m sure the cut on your hand is fine, but, are you?”

He’d just come face-to-face with a vampire that had tried to kill him not long ago. A vampire who’d wasted no time in trying to kill him again. Yet there he was, asking her if she was okay. What was more, he seemed entirely sincere. This man was … remarkable.

Brianna took a breath and smiled. “Of course,” she said.

Polite throat clearing from several paces behind her drew her attention. As she turned, the store manager said, “Excuse me, ma’am. I’m afraid the police are on their way.”

Naturally. That was why she hadn’t wanted to make a scene. “You know what to do,” she said. It wasn’t as if this would be the first vampire-related altercation that had happened in public since the invention of security cameras. Brianna turned to face Joe again. “I can’t make you do anything against your will, but it might be easier if you’re not here when the police show up.”

His lips twitched. “That’s not a hardship. Last time was enough of a hassle.”

“Oh, wait!” Kendall said suddenly, shifting things around. The squeak of bakery plastic reminded Brianna of her armload before Brianna had turned toward her properly. Kendall had tugged her purse around and was fumbling with it awkwardly, trying not to drop the items she still held in her other.

Brianna sighed and looked over at the manager again. “Does anyone have a tab here by chance?”

“A … tab?” From his tone, apparently that wasn’t a common question.

Joe held out a single bill. “This should cover it.”

“You don’t have to,” Brianna said.

“We don’t have time to argue about it,” Joe returned with a subtle grin.

“Yes, thank you, sir,” the manager said.

Joe was right, so Brianna dropped the issue. “Kendall, stop fidgeting.” She inclined her head to the manager and turned around. “Where’s the back exit?”

“Ah,” the manager started, “the special exit is behind aisle ten. Someone will be waiting to show you the entry.”

The special exit had been built in sometime after the store had been bought out by a member of the Family. It hadn’t technically been designed for the purpose of evading police to avoid awkward, unnecessary questions, but … whatever worked. The special exit was, technically, strictly for vampires. But the employee conveniently washing the floor behind aisle ten barely even glanced at Brianna’s human companions before granting her access. The tunnel itself was sparsely lit, as vampires had excellent night vision, but as soon as Kendall grumbled about it being “so dark” Joe clicked on the flashlight in his phone. Brianna walked ahead of them, and the beam of light, and led the way out.

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